The founder of B8ta, the consumer electronics try and buy store, argues in an interview that a retailer's main aim should not be making a sale. Pop-up stores and concept showrooms have shifted the focus away from sales. The B8ta business model, which relies on subscriptions from producers who rent space in the store and get 100% of every sale, involves measuring every activity in the store except the sale: awareness, engagement etc. This is then given to brand partners in real time. B8ta operates stores inside other retailers' units such as Lowe's or Macy's Herald Square, NY, and its own shops in key locations. According to the founder of B8ta, the business model applies better to beauty and fashion than it does in consumer electronics; if he could do it again, he would create a fashion B8ta.

read article on B8ta

Struggling department store chain Sears is selling 16 stores on the online auction site Real Insight Marketplace, which is working in partnership with commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The novel approach to selling stores is part of ongoing efforts by Sears Holdings to extract money from its real estate to protect its financial liquidity amid chronic and deep sales declines. The Sears stores are being marketed as sale and lease-back deals. While Sears has closed hundreds of stores in recent years, in many cases it has also simply sold a store and then leased it back to continue operating a store, or shrunk the space it occupies in a store and renting out the rest to a tenant. The stores being auctioned are for the most part connected to suburban malls and are located in Texas, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. Bids are due by 1 May 2018.

Mosaert, the creative collective built around Belgian singer-songwriter Paul Van Haver, who is known as Stromae, has transformed Le Bon Marché into a fantasy factory "Mosaert Fabrique", completed with tubes, riveted metal panels and workers in white coverall suits and safety glasses. "It's a little more fantastic than Warhol's Factory, I think. His had a rawer feel. Ours is more joyful and magical, in that it's part of our philosophy of promoting European manual crafts," said Van Haver. Presenting its latest collection "Capsule n°5", the label's fashion show (held on 6 April) featured models as performers, who stood tall and still, then moved in unison, froze suddenly and broke out into different poses before charging down the runway, buns on their heads and decked out in a whimsical lineup of streetwear with delicate Art Nouveau patterns. In the background, workers rose up and down the store's iconic elevator bank, standing still — immune to the catchy new and exclusive Stromae soundtrack. Guests entering the upscale department store were greeted with an elaborate, mechanical display of shirts, jackets and shorts that slowly rotated along a rack. Some stopped to take in the movement, and the clothing, or slip on a pair of headphones in front of a screen relaying a film about the production.

Mosaert Fabrique will run until 13 May and also include window displays and, for the first time, a homeware collection, completed by the redesign of some of La Grande Epicerie products packaging.

video: see presentation of Mosaert Fabrique

see picture of Mosaert Fabrique at Le Bon Marché

see event Mosaert fabrique on Le Bon Marché website

TaskRabbit, an online marketplace for freelance moving, cleaning and handyman tasks, shut down its website and app following a "cybersecurity incident" that was apparently a data breach. It is now back online. The size and nature of the breach, as well as how it occurred, has not yet been reported by TaskRabbit, which was acquired last year by Ikea.

A French survey claims that 48% of companies reported an increase in cyberattacks over the last year. Ransomware remains the most popular type of attack, reported by 73% of companies concerned. The consequences of an attack range from unavailability of the internet site for a significant period of time (15%), through a break in production (12%), loss of sales (9%) to delays in deliveries (7%).

One of the major victims of a cyberattack in 2017, Maersk of Denmark, has decided to split the CFO role into finance on the one hand, and IT and digital on the other. The move is thought to reflect the growing importance of IT as well as the lessons from the cyberattack. One consequence of this decision has been the resignation of the current CFO.

American department store-chain Barneys New York is wholesaling its in-house label, which includes women's and men's ready-to-wear, shoes, handbags and accessories, to Boon the Shop, the trendsetting multi-brand retailer that introduced once unfamiliar brands like Dries Van Noten and Comme des Garçons to Korean consumers. Private-apparel labels, typically manufactured by retailers and sold under their own name, have long been a staple of department stores like Barneys, where its in-house label is among the top five selling brands for men and women; and it's rarer for chains to put their in-house labels at the centre of an expansion push. But chief executive Daniella Vitale said wholesaling would help raise Barneys' profile in Asia without taking the expensive step of opening new stores overseas. Barneys chose South Korea because the country is among the company's top-performing eight markets, and online sales are growing fast there. Barneys will introduce selected pieces as part of a two-week pop-up at Boon the Shop, which is owned by Korean department store chain Shinsegae, before introducing its full-season collection. Pricing of the private label will be similar in Korea as it is in the US, where a men's cotton poplin shirt retails for $265 and a women's cropped cashmere sweater costs $495.

House of Fraser's Chinese owner Sanpower has pledged to grant the department store a £15 million cash injection to stabilise its finances. According to The Guardian, Sanpower is poised to reiterate its support for the retailer, of which it owns an 89 per cent stake, despite confirming earlier in March that it was looking to offload its majority share to Wuji Wenhua. "We at Sanpower continue to support House of Fraser as it embarks on a year of significant transformation."

The past few months have been especially difficult for House of Fraser, which recorded a slump in Christmas sales, had its credit rating downgraded, sought to reduce rents through talks with landlords, and drafted in Rothschild to help refinance its debt package. House of Fraser currently employs around 6000 staff across 59 stores and a further 11,500 staff among its concessions.

A UBS report on Myer department stores of Australia says the company needs fewer and smaller stores. It claims most of the group's 63 stores are likely to be at break-even and Myer is losing market share to online players and international fashion retailers such as Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo.

However, grave doubts subsist about whether Myer can bear the cost of of trimming its $2.7bn lease burden.

Premier Investments, Myer's largest shareholder, has disputed some of the figures given out by management, and is calling for shareholders to oust the board of the company in an extraordinary general meeting.

The German Karstadt department store group will open an Aldi discount food outlet in the basement of the large Hamburg store. Not only is the move intended to increase the mix of activities in the store, but might attract traffic in the whole store. In fiscal 2017, Karstadt reported a profit of €1.4m, its first positive report since 2006. This contrasts with the poor Kaufhof results announced by parent company Hudson's Bay.

The Nihonbashi Takashimaya department store in Tokyo has become the third and largest unit of the Japanese franchise's Pokemon Center on 1300m². Fans of the brand can buy soft toys and accessories as well as visit a café selling a range of foods including themed curries and pancakes in the shape of the Pokemon character Pikachu.

Galeries Lafayette continued its push into new territory, opening a store in a freshly built mall in Marseille, France. The new 100,000-square-foot store stretches over four floors and serves as the anchor to the modern, glass-covered Prado shopping centre. It is the second Galeries Lafayette store in the city for the retailer. "The Galeries Lafayette Marseille Prado store perfectly matches our ambition to make our stores living spaces, genuine homes in which our clients are our guests and in which we offer them the best of our fashion know-how," said Olivier Bron, operations director for the group.

The Prado centre sits near an affluent section of France's second largest city, not far from the Orange Vélodrome -France's second-largest stadium- known to host high-profile soccer and rugby matches, as well as an exhibition centre. In addition to traffic flows generated by sports events, the developer hopes to tap into demand for food in the neighbourhood, with a rooftop terrace and a half a dozen restaurants, and French grocer Auchan which will open a specialty food store stocked with local and regional produce.

read press release of Galeries Lafayette Marseille Prado new store

see video of the construction of galeries lafayette marseille prado store

One of USA's largest department store companies, Bon-Ton Stores Inc., plans to liquidate all 256 of its stores. The Bon-Ton Stores, a chain of department stores that traces its origins to 1854, applied for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February but failed to find a buyer –it  initially planned to close only about 40 locations. It has now received a winning bid from a joint venture, including Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group, to wind down its operations. Bon-Ton's stores are expected to close within the next 10 to 12 weeks, and going-out-of-business sales begin Friday 20 April in 212 stores and e-commerce websites under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers nameplates.

But Bon-Ton is not alone. Toys "R" Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year and is liquidating and closing its 735 stores in the US, and Sears has lost billions of dollars since 2010.

Ikea has begun opening smaller stores in Southeast Asia's regional cities. By 2021, Ikea will have compact stores in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Udon Thani, and other Thai cities with populations mostly under 200 000. The stores do not hold full stock. Some items ordered are delivered from larger stores in major cities. The store already operating in Phuket has 2600m² of space and cost one third of the cost of the full-size store operating in the outskirts of Bangkok. There exist similar stores in the UK and Canada but the idea was not successful in Japan with the 1500m² store in Kumamoto to close at the end of July.

The first Manhattan full-line store of Nordstrom is opening on 12 April at 57th and Broadway. The first part is a three-floor men's clothing and grooming supplies unit. According to commentators, the store, arriving in New York just as other retailers are leaving the city, will stand as a test case for the future of department stores. The aim is to combine cutting-edge technology with old-school in-store service. If a customer needs a tie at 2 in the morning, he can order it online and a Nordstrom employee will meet him at a store entrance — no matter the hour. Returns can be made by simply scanning an item at a digital kiosk and depositing it in a bin — no human interaction needed.

The store offers a number of exclusives such as Jack Erwin, Cole Haan NYCH, Strong Suit by Ilaria Urbinati as well as proprietary styles from more widely distributed brands. There is also a coffee shop and a « clubhouse » bar/restaurant overlooking Columbus Circle.

An even larger women's store will be opened across the street in autumn 2019, a totally new building on 30 000 m². The total cost of the project is estimated at $500m.

read more about Nordstrom's menswear opening in NYC

The Danish concept Søstrene Grene, named after the sisters Grene who founded the retailer in Aarhus in 1973, offers home accessories, kitchenware, gifts and stationery in Scandinavian design style at low prices. The 183 stores covering 15 countries, are shaped like labyrinths and play classical music. The largest countries for the group are Denmark, Norway, Germany and France. It is also developing in Japan. The company is now operated by two brothers Mikkel and Cresten, children of the founders, who own the firm 50/50. In spite of low prices, ethical responsibility is a part of the company brand. There is no online business.

In a provocative piece, Canadian futurist Doug Stephens, argues that to save retail, we must let it die. Disruptive innovation is sometimes difficult to accept, as was illustrated by Ron Johnson's efforts to save JC Penney in 2011. Stephens claims that customers, shareholders and the board of Penney did not have the stomach to see though the changes proposed by Johnson. Change is now happening suddenly: e-commerce will soon drive the majority of sales; products will replenish themselves; and physical retail will no longer be a channel for buying. This will require a new business model. As was quoted in the IADS statistical presentation in October 2017, we need to "stop thinking products, and start thinking productions".

See full article: "To save retail, let it die"

Marui department store in Tokyo has cancelled a photography exhibition called "The World of Women's Thighs" after questions were raised about the subject matter as well as about whether minors were used as models. The exhibition was scheduled to be held at the company's Ikebukuro Station store from 9 March to 26 March and was to include 500 photographs taken by Yuria showing thighs of women. There had already been an eruption on social media when a press notice about the exhibition was released last month.

According to a report in the Dutch press, the Hudson's Bay stores in the Netherlands have a high brand awareness but are not performing up to expectations. Although customers are open to the brand, they find the format too expensive, according to Retail Intelligence Lab. Hudson's Bay opened the first store in Amsterdam in September and now operates 12 stores including 2 Saks Off Fifth stores. Another three locations have been announced for this year. Customers are aware of the brand in part because Hudson's Bay took over many locations of the bankrupt V&D chain. However, the current stores have little in common with V&D.

After over one year of searching, Liberty of London has appointed a new CEO Adil Mehboob-Khan, a beauty industry veteran who has held top posts at Procter & Gamble, Wella, and more recently at Luxottica. His predecessor was Ed Burstell who left in 2016. Liberty, owned by Blue Gem, has been preparing for an IPO and it is clear that Mehboob-Khan's experience with publicly listed companies would serve him well in any potential flotation of Liberty. But the company has not been idle while searching for a CEO: it has relaunched its women's wear department last October, expanded men's last summer with the addition of around 20 new brands, introduced a denim department, as well as a grooming department.

Harvey Nichols in London will become the first department store to work with Farfetch from the second quarter of this year. The store will benefit from the Farfetch e-commerce and logistics expertise, and customers will use services such as in-store returns and same-day delivery. Currently Harvey Nichols makes around 10% of its sales online. This is expected to grow as well as to extend the international reach of the business. This solution would be less attractive to businesses which already have scale and an infrastructure in place. However, for Harvey Nichols, which operates eight stores in the UK and Ireland, it certainly broadens the market. Potential pressure on margins coming from a Farfetch cut of sales and fulfilment charges is expected to be outweighed by the increase in sales.

read article:"Farfetch: is the future for department stores online?"

For ten years, Parkson of Malaysia enjoyed success and profitability in Vietnam. At its peak, it was operating nine stores and was one of the largest chains in the country. It now has only six stores and reported a loss of VND 24 bn in the first half of the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Parkson has been taking losses for the last six quarters. The last centre to close was in Hanoi in 2016. The company has now announced the closure of the centre in Flemington, Ho Chi Minh City. Since 2011, the business model has apparently become less popular than shopping malls which have multi-functional areas integrating distribution and entertainment services.

Cyber policies are forecast to rise from $35bn this year to $8bn - $10bn by 2020. A number of recent incidents have brought concern over cyberattacks to the fore. For example, the after-effects of the attack on Merck pharmaceuticals last year cost the company $260m in loss of sales, $320m on additional marketing and production, and the company says it will lose another $200m this year. Insurance is estimated to cover around $275m. Since other well-publicised attacks (see earlier news items) by WannaCry, NotPetya, the breaches at Equifax, and Target among others, companies are buying insurance in ever greater numbers. Retail is estimated to account for some 12% of total cyber insurance claims. The insurance industry is happy with the growth (17 insurers selling $350m of cover in 2007, and 65 today selling $3.5bn) but struggling with the unpredictability (models have yet to be built and insurers fear aggregation, that is, the simultaneity of attacks). GDPR regulation to be introduced in Europe in May with substantial fines, is also raising awareness and fear.

See article from financial times: cyber attacks, the risks of pricing digital cover

From 9 April to 24 June, Galeries Lafayette will celebrate music through its operation Music Machines. From stunning scenography displayed in the department store windows, to live music performances instore, the exciting programme of events was developed in collaboration with Pedro Winter, a French DJ and music producer among other talents. Twelve Galeries Lafayette stores in France will host this festive operation.

see press release

At the same time, precisely end of April, Marine Serre, winner of the Hyères International Festival of Fashion and Photography, will launch a capsule collection at Galeries Lafayette. Items include striped shirtdresses, sheer drawstring raincoats and printed bodysuits, with prices going from 49 to 149 euros. It will be launched in Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and BHV Marais flagships in Paris, on the retailer's web site and in 17 Galeries Lafayette stores across France. Serre graduated from Belgian school La Cambre in 2016 and works in the design studio at Balenciaga.

read newsnote in French

Nordstrom has acquired BevyUp, a digital start-up which allows shoppers to share information with each other and browse items together online. It also gives the opportunity to sales associates to communicate with each other on the back end. Nordstrom has also bought MessageYes, which offers brands the opportunity to text their customers, leveraging artificial intelligence and integrated payments. Nordstrom will use it to send customers more personalised notifications. Nordstrom acquired HauteLook, a members only shopping website, in 2011.